# CVE-2020-8744: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) CSME versions, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS

> A privileged local attacker can escalate privileges due to improper initialization in Intel CSME, TXE, and SPS firmware.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Nov 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4pp9-pcmj-qjgw

## What is CVE-2020-8744?

CVE-2020-8744 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) CSME versions, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS, published on 12 Nov 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper initialization in subsystem for Intel(R) CSME versions before12.0.70, 13.0.40, 13.30.10, 14.0.45 and 14.5.25, Intel(R) TXE versions before 4.0.30 Intel(R) SPS versions before E3_05.01.04.200 may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Weakness: CWE-665 (Improper Initialization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8744?

It affects 6 products.


Products: Intel Converged Security and Management Engine, Intel Server Platform Services, Intel Trusted Execution Engine, Siemens Simatic S7-1500 Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1518-4 Pn\/Dp Mfp Firmware, Siemens Simatic S7-1518f-4 Pn\/Dp Mfp Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8744?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-8744 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-8744 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8744 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) CSME versions, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS

- [CVE-2019-0091](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0091/): Code injection in Intel(R) Converged Security & Management Engine (CSME), Intel (R) Trusted Execution Engine Interface (TXE) (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-0090](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0090/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Converged Security & Management Engine (CSME), Intel(R) Server Platform Services (SPS) (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2020-8755](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8755/): Race condition in Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) SPS (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2019-0093](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0093/): Information disclosure in Intel(R) Converged Security & Management Engine (CSME), Intel(R) Server Platform Services (SPS) (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8744 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8744 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) CSME versions, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS, published on 12 Nov 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8744 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) CSME versions, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8744/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8744/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8744
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8744
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8744

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8744/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.